A Good-for-Nothing

97. Responsibility (1)

Translator: Dragon Rider

After declaring the meeting over, Zong Xian and Zhen Daoyuan told Li Zong and

Zhang Jingqiu to stay. All members of the first and the second action groups

waited outside in the knowledge that their group leaders were going to give them

some instructions in a while.

Some of them fell into discussion with each other.

“I keep feeling that what Director General Zong talked about was a little weird. I

mean, if the Divine Law really has some kind of mechanism that can detect powerful

beings of energy, how did the Demon King come to know about it beforehand?”

Han Zhuo cast Tun Shanhai a bland look, who seemed to be somewhat restless.

Zhen Ni glanced at the speaker and asked, “What are you getting at?”

The man replied, “I’m just curious.”

Not long ago, Zhen Ni had sustained a severe injury and was still recovering.

After standing for quite some time, she felt a little dizzy, so she walked up to a

little sofa on the side and sat down. “Curiosity killed the cat. You might as well

ask Lin Di. He’s always a well-informed guy, isn’t he?”

Due to the competition between the two group leaders, there was faint hostility

between the first group and the second group, which was why their tones had a

strong smell of gunpowder when they talked to each other.

Lin Di shook his head and made no reply. Nobody knew what he was thinking about.

His eyes rested on Tun Shanhai. Many staff members of SMB were spirits of magic

treasures or Yōkai in human form, and in the normal course of events, they

wouldn’t disclose their true forms to others of their own accord. Tun Shanhai, who

was capable of turning into a cat and also a human, could be regarded as a

powerful cultivator. Some members of the first action group knew some inside

information about this, while in the second action group, nobody was aware of his

true form.

Lin Di squinted his eyes, gazed at him for a while and queried in a quite curious

tone, “Do you by any chance know anything about this, Tun Shanhai?”

On hearing someone call his name, Tun Shanhai felt a shiver from head to toe.

Han Zhuo knitted his eyebrows. “Lin Di, inquiring about team members is not

allowed.”

Lin Di replied, “I have no intention of making inquiries about his true form, but

I keep feeling that Tun Shanhai has been behaving somewhat strangely. Isn’t it

advisable for staff members to exchange useful intelligence so as to achieve

mutual benefit?”

“Of course not.” Tun Shanhai bared his teeth at Lin Di. In front of outsiders, Tun

Shanhai was always unwilling to appear vulnerable. “But my intelligence has

nothing to do with how the Demon King came to know the detecting mechanism of the

Divine Law.”

“Then would you please tell me why you’ve been restless and preoccupied all

along?”

“This involves my secrets. For us, letting others know about our true forms is

very dangerous. I don’t want to disclose this matter at such a great risk.” Tun

Shanhai haughtily tossed his head. “Especially to you!”

“You misjudged me. I’m your colleague, not your enemy.” Lin Di was not annoyed.

“No matter our group leaders or members of the two groups, we are all family, and

we all work for the same department. I believe nobody would ever betray you.”

He was still trying to persuade Tun Shanhai into sharing some key information.

After a few moments’ silence, Han Zhuo commented, “For us, safety of our teammates

is more important than many things.”

Lin Di squinted his eyes. He had thought that since Zu Zhichong, a diplomat, was

absent, things would be a lot easier to handle, but unexpectedly, Han Zhuo who was

always taciturn was no pushover either. ‘It seems that I misjudged them. Everybody

in the first action group is thorny,’ he thought.

Lin Di also couldn’t help but become wary. Sooner or later the day would come when

somebody decided which one of the two group leaders should be promoted to the head

of this department. Overall, Lin Di was willing to see Zhang Jingqiu become the

next director general, but under these circumstances, trying too hard to pry into

this matter indeed might make others suspect his intentions. Lin Di didn’t want to

get himself in trouble for no good reason.

“Then I won’t insist. Still, in case any of you have any misunderstandings about

us, there’s something I’d like to clarify — the second action group will keep the

first action group informed of any developments during the investigation into the

Demonic Seed, and I hope the first action group will do the same and cooperate

with the second action group. Apart from everything else, finding the Demonic Seed

and eliminating the Demon King is our common goal.”

“Of course. All members of the first action group want the same thing as the

second action group do.”

This fairly confrontational conversation came to an end.

After quite a while, Li Zong and Zhang Jingqiu walked out of the meeting room. Li

Zong’s face was just as bland as always, while Zhang Jingqiu’s mouth was a thin

line, which made him seem somewhat serious. With a heavy heart, he flicked a

glance at his group members.

What Zong Xian had just told them was of far greater importance than the

competition between him and Li Zong.

Before leaving, Zhang Jingqiu turned around and said to Zong Xian, “Then we’ll

depart straight away, Director General Zong.”

“Take care.”

Immediately, Zhang Jingqiu started making arrangement. He beckoned his team

members over with a wave and said, “Go back and pack. Lin Di, book our flight

tickets. We go directly to the Shen City.”

Lin Di had not expected that they would have to depart so soon, but he uttered not

a single word of complaint. Before walking out of the door, Zhang Jingqiu cast a

deep look at Li Zong.

“About this recruitment of new staff members…”

“Fair, open and transparent,” Li Zong replied in a bland tone of voice. “I’m not

going to take advantage of this opportunity to stamp on large sects. Besides, I’m

not the only one in charge of this matter. It is Director General Zong, Elder Chen

and Mr. Zhen who have the final say.”

Zhang Jingqiu inclined his head in satisfaction, a ghost of a smile on his face.

“That’s not what I meant. It’s not that I don’t trust you. I just want to confirm

it.”

Li Zong blandly gave a bob of his head.

Zhang Jingqiu told Lin Di and others to go back to make preparations, while he

himself stayed at the doorway for a while. There were many things that he could

communicate with Li Zong about. After Zong Xian and others left, Zhang Jingqiu

withdrew his gaze and observed fairly heavily, “Li Zong, the two of us are under

great pressure now.”

In fact, the two of them knew very well that during these years’ struggle between

humans and demons, even exorcists had suffered too many casualties. The road ahead

was fraught with perils and they had no idea what the odds they would survive

were.

“Still, Director General Zong and Mr. Zhen are willing to let us be a part of this,

which means that in their eyes we are strong enough to handle this pressure.”

Li Zong twisted his head around and said to Zhang Jingqiu, “Let this be an encouragement for us both.”